al-Tawalli (To love and respect the Ahlulbayt) and al-Tabarri (To disassociate from the enemies of the Ahlulbayt )

Al-Tawalli is to love and respect the Ahlulbayt and al-Tabarri is to disassociate from the enemies of the Ahlulbayt.

The Holy Qur’an instructs Muslims to take as examples in their life the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and the other noble persons, whom God has blessed, especially his family.

In this way, those who have strived for the cause of God, despite the difficult circumstances, are preserved in history and remembered by later generations who hope to emulate them. This is to ensure that the people of good are known and that Muslims will follow and love those whom Allah loves, that is the Prophet (s.a.w) and his Holy family.

Together with Tawalli, God has also commanded Muslims not to befriend or associate with those who are the enemies of Allah, those who are the enemies of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and his family. This is called al-Tabarri.

These are the tyrants and evil people of history who have fought against and persecuted the Prophets, the Imams and the faithful believers in Allah. This command forbidding Muslims from accepting wicked people as leaders and guardians establishes a distinguishing line which means good and evil can never be confused with each other.

The Prophet of Islam was always keen to have Muslims become a positive influence on each other, which is why he instructed them to love those whom are loved by God.

The Qur’an encourages people to do this, mentioning:

“And whoever takes Allah and His apostle and those who believe for a guardian, then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant” [5:56]. Essentially, we are required to love those whom are near to Allah so that we may become closer to Allah ourselves.

This love can be held in our hearts and it can be displayed as a sign of allegiance.

Among the people whom God loves and wishes them to be an example for us are the Prophets and Imams, who have been sent as a mercy to mankind and who strive to teach us how to become better people. Thus Tawalli means to follow in the footsteps of the previous generations of people who have instructed us to behave justly and morally. Such people should be upheld as our role models, we should love them for the sake of Allah and attempt to learn from them, never turning away from them or forgetting them or being disrespectful to their memory.

Likewise the Prophet commanded Muslims to dissociate and turn away from the enemies of Allah and Islam who seek to do harm to the Muslims. This is called al-Tabarri.

The Holy Qur’an in several verses gives Allah’s words on this:

“O you who have believed, take not those who have taken your religion in ridicule and amusement among the ones who were given the Scripture before you nor the disbelievers as allies. And fear Allah, if you should [truly] be believers” [5:57].

It repeats this warning:

“Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever [of you] does that has nothing with Allah” [3:28].

Thus tyrants, evildoers and enemies of Allah who attempt to obstruct the truth and prevent the people from living freely and justly must be dissociated from. A believer must never support them or take them as friends and must turn away from them. In this way, Tawalli and Tabarri complement each other, making it clear to Muslims who their role models are and whom they should not associate with.

Amongst the most contested practices of the Shi’a and the most misunderstood practices of the Shi’a is the practice known as Intercession. Many non-Shi’as view this practice as a direct violation of the Islamic belief of pure monotheism (Tawheed) and have accused Shi’as of practicing Shirk due to such practices.

The Justice of God, known in Islamic theology as “al-‘Adalah” is considered by Shi’a theologians to be a key Pillar of Islam (one of the Usul al-Din).
It is argued by theologians and philosophers that since Allah is the greatest conceivable perfect being, and since justice is an attribute of perfection, that Allah must, by definition, always act within a just framework.